Remembrance//Book 1//CATWS and AOU

4. Hideout

"I'm sorry," Annie whispers, rocking her body back and forth. She needs to protect herself. People are going to hurt her. He's going to hurt her. "I'm so sorry. I knew, I knew," she cries out. "I knew about HYDRA, I just thought that I was doing the wrong thing!"

There were attempts when they tried to calm her down in a hastily rush because they were in someones house. Someone she didn't know. They try to keep her calm, but she was breaking apart. The walls fell on her. Literally. But they didn't--they just did nothing to her.

"I knew. But I didn't know I was a leader. I swear, I swear!" Annie admits. "I killed people, I didn't care. I don't know who I am. But I killed for their cause. I always did, but I don't know? I don't, I really--"

Natasha shoves a sock in Annie's mouth.

"I get it," she calmly says. "We just want information. Agent ninety-ninety--please calm down."

Steve intensively watches the woman tied on the chair that he once knew. The woman who had went MIA on the S.S.R.'s files. Though, could she really be the Burdge Strath that Steve had grown up with? Steve couldn't forget Burdge's face, but when he looked at the crazed look on Annie, he had his doubts about what Zola said.

Sam Wilson had entered the room, his face contorting in a grimace at Annie. "She's still going on about this?"

Steve turns to Sam with a sad look. "She's afraid of Hydra.  Karin--Annie--whatever her name is, she's been working with them knowingly, thinking she's doing something right. But, I think they've done something to her...Erase her memory?"

Sam leans on the door frame when Annie manages to calm down with Natasha. "Well, if she's up for it, I made breakfast."

He looks at Annie/Karin one last time before saying, "If you eat that sort of stuff."

After fifteen minutes, Natasha had coaxed Annie into sitting on the chair. She never touched the plate, Steve noticed. He sat next to her, hoping that by his appearance, she could maybe remember something about her past.

"Are you okay?" Steve gently asks, his hand reaching for hers, but she quickly pulled away.

"No," Annie whispers. "I lied to you. Deceived you. Conspired in HYDRA's plans. You still talk to me. You don't treat me like a prisoner. I'm you enemy."

He shakes his head. "In all honesty, you were the enemy," he admits. "You look like my friend. I think you are Burdge Strath."

"The girl who no one appreciated?"

He nods, scanning the features of her face. "Yeah, the one who protected me. Independent and--"

"When it ever came to be dependent on someone it would be Bucky," Annie sniffled. "Tell me about Bucky."

"Oh," Steve shifted uncomfortably. "I mean I don't think I'm ready--"

"Steven," Annie pleads. "I get these flashes of him.. I know he has blue eyes, dark hair. I felt nice around him, Steve. I don't know Bucky, but I love him so much..." As though bringing up Bucky had given her invincibility, Annie reaches for Steve's hand and grips it. 

The way she spoke about Bucky, Steve already knew that this was Burdge. Burdge Strath was technically her real name, since when they last had a talk, she's confessed that she made her own name up at ten. Looking down at their hands, Steve shakes his head. "I'm not ready," he coughed. "I'm still getting used to getting out."

Releasing her grip, Annie nods in understanding. "Yeah," she says. "I'm sorry, I just I'm getting impatient with myself."

Natasha walks into the kitchen and sits down on the chair next to Steve.